POS system

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a POS system which employs a purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus having a self scanning function and is improved in that the access time for data transfer processing is reduced to reduce the time required for settlement of accounts and complete transfer of data is assured to enhance the reliability. A two-dimensional bar code printing section is provided on the purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus and prints commodity code information from a commodity code reading section as a two-dimensional bar code. A two-dimensional bar code reading section for reading the two-dimensional bar code printed by the two-dimensional bar code printing section, a price retrieval section for retrieving prices of commodities in the accommodation section in accordance with the two-dimensional bar code information, and a totalization section for performing final settlement of accounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in the accommodation section in accordance with a result of the retrieval by the price retrieval section are provided on a settlement POS terminal.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/273,787filed Jul. 12, 1994, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a POS system which employs a purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus such as a shoppingcart (hand cart) or a shopping basket for use in the distributionindustry, particularly in a store such a mass sales store, a conveniencestore or a supermarket to allow a customer to accommodate and transporta purchased commodity, and more particularly to a POS system whichemploys a purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus(scanning cart) having a self scanning function to allow a customer topurchase a commodity while the customer itself reads a commodity codesuch as a bar code applied to the commodity.

2) Description of the Related Art

Generally, a POS system is employed in various stores such assupermarkets and convenience stores. In the POS system, a customer walksaround in a store pushing a shopping cart or carrying a shopping basket,places commodities to be purchased into the shopping cart or theshopping basket, and comes to a settlement POS terminal (POS register).

Then at the settlement POS terminal, an operator take out thecommodities one by one from the shopping cart or the shopping basket andreads the bar codes (commodity codes) applied to the commodities bymeans of a scanner to effect registration processing. In particular, inaccordance with commodity code information read from each bar code, theprice of the commodity corresponding to the commodity code is retrievedfrom a commodity price file (PLU (Price Look Up) file), and a totalamount of money of the purchased commodities is calculated to settle theaccounts.

With such POS system, however, since an operator must perform a readingoperation of a commodity code of each commodity, much time is requiredfor such reading operation and a settling operation, which causes thecustomer to wait for a long time. Accordingly, in a time band in whichcustomers are crowded, a queue of customers is produced in front of asettlement POS terminal, and besides, the burden on the operator isheavy.

Thus, in recent years, a shopping cart (scanning cart) or a shoppingbasket having a scanner (commodity code reading section) for reading abar code (commodity code) applied to a commodity has been developed andare disclosed in various publications including, for example, JapanesePatent Laid-Open Applications No. Showa 63-145591, No. Heisei 2-277412and No. Heisei 5-81559.

In a POS system which employs a shopping cart or a shopping basket ofthe type mentioned, a customer itself reads a bar code applied to acommodity to be purchased by means of the scanner to register thecommodity code information and places or accommodates the commodity intoan accommodating section of the shopping cart or the shopping basket,and then after selection of commodities to be purchased is completed,the commodities are placed into the shopping cart or the shopping basketand transported to a settlement POS terminal.

Then at the settlement POS terminal, the commodity code information (orcommodity price information corresponding to the commodity codeinformation) registered by the customer itself is loaded down by radioor some other suitable means, and a total amount of money of thepurchased commodities is calculated based on the commodity codeinformation (commodity price information) to effect settlement of theaccounts.

With the POS system, an operator no more need read the commodity codesof commodities one by one, and the time (register operation time)required for reading processing and settling processing can be reducedsignificantly. Consequently, the customer need not wait for a long timeany more and also the burden on the operator can be reduced remarkably.

With the conventional POS system described above, however, uponsettlement of accounts at a settlement POS terminal, a customer musttransfer information of commodity codes which have been registered bythe customer itself or commodity price information corresponding to suchcommodity code information by wireless or by some other suitable meansfrom a self scanning cart or a shopping basket or a like member having aself scanning function to the settlement POS terminal. Accordingly, theconventional POS system has a subject to be solved in that much time isrequired for accessing for such data transfer processing, which makes afactor of an increase of the settlement time, and the reliability is notsatisfactory in that data may not possibly be transferred completely.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a POS system whereinthe access time for transfer of data is reduced to reduce the timerequired for settlement of accounts and complete transfer of data isassured to enhance the reliability.

In order to attain the object described above, according to an aspect ofthe present invention, there is provided a POS system which comprises apurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus having aself scanning function and including a commodity code reading sectionfor reading a commodity code applied to a commodity and an accommodationsection for accommodating therein a commodity whose commodity code hasbeen read by the commodity code reading section, a settlement POSterminal for performing final settlement of accounts for purchasedcommodities accommodated in the accommodation section of the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus, a two-dimensionalbar code printing section provided on the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus for printing commodity codeinformation read by the commodity code reading section as atwo-dimensional bar code, a two-dimensional bar code reading sectionprovided on the settlement POS terminal for reading the two-dimensionalbar code printed by the two-dimensional bar code printing section of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus, a priceretrieval section provided on the settlement POS terminal for retrievingprices of commodities accommodated in the accommodation section of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus inaccordance with the two-dimensional bar code information read by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section, and a totalization sectionprovided on the settlement POS terminal for performing final settlementof accounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in theaccommodation section of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus in accordance with a result of the retrieval bythe price retrieval section.

The price retrieval section may refer to a commodity information file,in which price information of the commodities corresponding to thecommodity code information is stored as commodity information, toretrieve prices of the commodities. In this instance, the commodityinformation file may be provided in the settlement POS terminal oralternatively in an upper control apparatus which controls thesettlement POS terminal.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda POS system which comprises a purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus having a self scanning function and including acommodity code reading section for reading a commodity code applied to acommodity and an accommodation section for accommodating therein acommodity whose commodity code has been read by the commodity codereading section, a settlement POS terminal for performing finalsettlement of accounts for purchased commodities accommodated in theaccommodation section of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus, a price retrieval section provided in thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus forretrieving prices of the commodities accommodated in the accommodationsection of the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus in accordance with commodity code information read by thecommodity code reading section, a calculation section provided in thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus forcalculating a total value of the prices of the commodities in accordancewith a result of the retrieval by the price retrieval section, adetailed log production section provided on the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus for producing a detailed log ofthe purchased commodities in accordance with the result of the retrievalby the price retrieval section and a result of the calculation by thecalculation section, a two-dimensional bar code printing sectionprovided on the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus for printing the detailed log produced by the detailed logproduction section as a two-dimensional bar code, a two-dimensional barcode reading section provided on the settlement POS terminal for readingthe two-dimensional bar code printed by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus, and a totalization section provided on thesettlement POS terminal for performing final settlement of accounts forthe purchased commodities accommodated in the accommodation section ofthe purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus inaccordance with a result of the reading by the two-dimensional bar codereading section.

The price retrieval section may refer to a commodity information file,in which price information of the commodities corresponding to thecommodity code information is stored as commodity information, toretrieve prices of the commodities. In this instance, the commodityinformation file may be provided on the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus or alternatively in an uppercontrol apparatus which controls the purchased commodity accommodatingand transporting apparatus.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a POS system which comprises a purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus having a self scanning functionand including a commodity code reading section for reading a commoditycode applied to a commodity and an accommodation section foraccommodating therein a commodity whose commodity code has been read bythe commodity code reading section, a settlement POS terminal forperforming final settlement of accounts for purchased commoditiesaccommodated in the accommodation section of the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus, a first price retrievalsection provided in the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus for retrieving prices of the commoditiesaccommodated in the accommodation section of the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus in accordance with commoditycode information read by the commodity code reading section, acalculation section provided in the purchased commodity accommodatingand transporting apparatus for calculating a total value of the pricesof the commodities in accordance with a result of the retrieval by thefirst price retrieval section, a detailed log production sectionprovided on the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus for producing a detailed log of the purchased commodities inaccordance with the result of the retrieval by the first price retrievalsection and a result of the calculation by the calculation section, atwo-dimensional bar code printing section provided on the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus for printing thedetailed log produced by the detailed log production section as atwo-dimensional bar code, an error determination section provided on thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus fordetermining whether or not an error has occurred upon price retrieval bythe first price retrieval section, a print contents switching sectionprovided on the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus and operable when it is determined by the error determinationsection that an error has occurred for switching contents to be printedby the two-dimensional bar code printing section from the detailed logproduced by the detailed log production section to the commodity codeinformation read by the commodity code reading section, atwo-dimensional bar code reading section provided on the settlement POSterminal for reading the two-dimensional bar code printed by thetwo-dimensional bar code printing section of the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus, a print contents determinationsection provided on the settlement POS terminal for determining whethera result of the reading by the two-dimensional bar code reading sectionis a detailed log or commodity code information, a second priceretrieval section provided on the settlement POS terminal and operablewhen it is determined by the print contents determination section thatthe printed contents are commodity code information for retrievingprices of the commodities accommodated in the accommodation section ofthe purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus inaccordance with the two-dimensional bar code information read by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section, and a totalization sectionprovided on the settlement POS terminal and operable when it isdetermined by the print contents determination section that the printedcontents are commodity code information for performing final settlementof accounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in theaccommodation section of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus in accordance with a result of the retrieval bythe second price retrieval section but operable when it is determined bythe print contents determination section that the printed contents are adetailed log for performing final settlement of accounts for thepurchased commodities in accordance with the result of the reading bythe two-dimensional bar code reading section.

The first price retrieval section may refer to a commodity informationfile, in which price information of the commodities corresponding to thecommodity code information is stored as commodity information, toretrieve prices of the commodities. In this instance, the commodityinformation file may be provided on the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus or alternatively in an uppercontrol apparatus which controls the purchased commodity accommodatingand transporting apparatus.

The second price retrieval section may refer to a commodity informationfile, in which price information of the commodities corresponding to thecommodity code information is stored as commodity information, toretrieve prices of the commodities. In this instance, the commodityinformation file may be provided in the settlement POS terminal oralternatively in an upper control apparatus which controls thesettlement POS terminal.

With the POS system described above, the following effects or advantagesare achieved:

1. The access time for data transfer processing between the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus and the settlementPOS terminal upon settlement of accounts can be reduced remarkably, andconsequently, the time for settlement of accounts can be reduced.Further, incomplete transfer of data, which possibly occurs withconventional radio transmission, is eliminated, and enhancement of thereliability can be realized.

2. Since detailed data are transferred at a time to the settlement POSterminal, the settlement terminal need not perform price retrievalprocessing any more, and consequently, the settlement time can befurther reduced.

3. When a retrieval error occurs upon price retrieval by the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus, information of atwo-dimensional bar code to be printed by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section is automatically switched to commodity code informationso that price retrieval processing based on the commodity codeinformation is performed by the settlement POS terminal. Consequently,the burden to the upper control section can be reduced.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts orelements are denoted by like reference characters.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a first aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view but illustrating a second aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a similar view but illustrating a third aspect of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional construction of a POSsystem according to a first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware construction of a controlsystem of a purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatusemployed in the POS system shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a hardware construction of asettlement POS terminal employed in the POS system shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a hardware construction of an uppercontrol section employed in the POS system shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a general construction of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the settlement POSterminal shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional construction of a POSsystem according to a second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus employed in the POS systemshown in FIG. 11, and

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating operation of a settlement POSterminal employed in the POS system shown in FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

a. Aspects of the Invention

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an aspect of the presentinvention. The aspect illustrated is directed to a POS system whichincludes at least one purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) having a self scanningfunction, and at least one settlement POS terminals 8 for performingfinal settlement of accounts for purchased commodity. The purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 includes acommodity code reading section 2 for reading a commodity code 15aapplied to a commodity 15, an accommodation section 3 for accommodatingtherein a commodity 15 whose commodity code 15a has been read by thecommodity code reading section 2, and a two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 7 for printing commodity code information read by thecommodity code reading section 2 as a two-dimensional bar code.

Meanwhile, the settlement POS terminal 8 includes a two-dimensional barcode reading section 9 for reading a two-dimensional bar code printed bythe two-dimensional bar code printing section 7 of the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1, a price retrievalsection 10 for retrieving prices of commodities 15 accommodated in theaccommodation section 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 in accordance with two-dimensional bar codeinformation read by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 9, anda totalization section 11 for performing final settlement of accountsfor the purchased commodities accommodated in the accommodation section3 of the purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1in accordance with a result of the retrieval by the price retrievalsection 10.

The price retrieval section 10 refers to a commodity information file,in which price information of commodities 15 corresponding to commoditycode information is stored as commodity information, to retrieve pricesof the commodities 15. The commodity information file may be provided inthe settlement POS terminal 8 or alternatively in an upper controlapparatus which controls the settlement POS terminal 8.

In the POS system described above with reference to FIG. 1, whilecarrying the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1, a customer itself reads a commodity code 15a applied to acommodity 15 to be purchased by means of the commodity code readingsection 2 and accommodates the commodity 15 into the accommodationsection 3. Then, after shopping is completed, the customer moves to thesettlement POS terminal 8. Thereupon, on the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus 1, commodity code informationof commodities read by the commodity code reading section 2 is printedas a two-dimensional bar code by the two-dimensional bar code printingsection 7.

Then, at the settlement POS terminal 8, the two-dimensional bar codeprinted by the two-dimensional bar code printing section 7 of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 is readby the two-dimensional bar code reading section 9, and the prices of thecommodities 15 accommodated in the accommodation section 3 of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 areretrieved by the price retrieval section 10 in accordance with the thusread two-dimensional bar code information. Then, final settlement ofaccounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in the accommodationsection 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1 is performed by the totalization section 11 in accordancewith a result of the retrieval.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated another aspect of thepresent invention. Also the aspect illustrated is directed to a POSsystem which includes a purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 having a self scanning function and asettlement POS terminal 8 for performing final settlement of accountsfor purchased commodities. According to the present aspect, however, thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 includes,in addition to a commodity code reading section 2 and an accommodationsection 3 similar to those of the first aspect described above, a priceretrieval section 4, a calculation section 5, a detailed log productionsection 6, and a two-dimensional bar code printing section 7.

The price retrieval section 4 retrieves prices of commodities 15accommodated in the accommodation section 3 of the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus 1 in accordance with commoditycode information read by the commodity code reading section 2. Thecalculation section 5 calculates a total value of the prices ofcommodities 15 in accordance with a result of retrieval by the priceretrieval section 4. The detailed log production section 6 produces adetailed log of purchased commodities in accordance with a result ofretrieval by the price retrieval section 4 and a result of calculationby the calculation section 5. The two-dimensional bar code printingsection 7 prints a detailed log produced by the detailed log productionsection 6 as a two-dimensional bar code,

Meanwhile, the settlement POS terminal 8 includes a two-dimensional barcode reading section 9 for reading a two-dimensional bar code printed bythe two-dimensional bar code printing section 7 of the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1, and a totalizationsection 11 for performing final settlement of accounts for the purchasedcommodities accommodated in the accommodation section 3 of the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 in accordance witha result of reading by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 9.

The price retrieval section 4 refers to a commodity information file, inwhich price information of commodities 15 corresponding to commoditycode information is stored as commodity information, to retrieve pricesof the commodities 15. The commodity information file may be provided onthe purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 oralternatively in an upper control apparatus which controls the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1.

In the POS system described above with reference to FIG. 2, whilecarrying the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1, a customer itself reads a commodity code 15a applied to acommodity 15 to be purchased by means of the commodity code readingsection 2 and accommodates the commodity 15 into the accommodationsection 3. Then, after shopping is completed, the customer moves to thesettlement POS terminal 8.

Thereupon, on the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1, the prices of commodities 15 accommodated in theaccommodation section 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 are retrieved by the price retrieval section 4in accordance with the commodity code information from the commoditycode reading section 2, and totalization calculation of the prices ofthe commodities 15 is performed by the calculation section 5 inaccordance with a result of the retrieval.

Then, a detailed log of the purchased commodities is produced by thedetailed log production section 6 in accordance with the result of theretrieval by the price retrieval section 4 and a result of thecalculation by the calculation section 5, and the detailed log isprinted as a two-dimensional bar code by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 7.

Then, at the settlement POS terminal 8, the two-dimensional bar codeprinted by the two-dimensional bar code printing section 7 of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 is readby the two-dimensional bar code reading section 9, and final settlementof accounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in theaccommodation section 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 is performed by the totalization section 11 inaccordance with a result of the reading.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a further aspect of thepresent invention. Also the aspect illustrated is directed to a POSsystem which includes a purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 having a self scanning function and asettlement POS terminal 8 for performing final settlement of accountsfor purchased commodities. According to the present aspect, however, thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 includesan error determination section 12 and a print contents switching section13 in addition to a commodity code reading section 2, an accommodationsection 3, a price retrieval section (first price retrieval section) 4,a calculation section 5, a detailed log calculation section 6 and atwo-dimensional bar code printing section 7 similar to those of thesecond aspect described above with reference to FIG. 2.

The error determination section 12 determines whether or not an errorhas occurred upon price retrieval by the first price retrieval section4. The print contents switching section 13 switches, when it isdetermined by the error determination section 12 that an error hasoccurred, contents to be printed by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 7 from the detailed log produced by the detailed logproduction section 6 to the commodity code information read by thecommodity code reading section 2.

Meanwhile, the settlement POS terminal 8 includes a two-dimensional barcode reading section 9, a print contents determination section 14, aprice retrieval section (second price retrieval section) 10, and atotalization section 11.

The two-dimensional bar code reading section 9 reads a two-dimensionalbar code printed by the two-dimensional bar code printing section 7 ofthe purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1. Theprint contents determination section 14 determines whether a result ofreading by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 9 is a detailedlog or commodity code information. The price retrieval section 10retrieves, when it is determined by the print contents determinationsection 14 that the printed contents are commodity code information,prices of commodities 15 accommodated in the accommodation section 3 ofthe purchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 inaccordance with two-dimensional bar code information read by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 9.

The totalization section 11 performs, when it is determined by the printcontents determination section 14 that the printed contents arecommodity code information, final settlement of accounts for thepurchased commodities accommodated in the accommodation section 3 of thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 inaccordance with a result of the retrieval by the price retrieval section10, but performs, when it is determined by the print contentsdetermination section 14 that the printed contents are a detailed log,final settlement of accounts for the purchased commodities in accordancewith a result of the reading by the two-dimensional bar code readingsection 9.

The price retrieval section 4 refers to a commodity information file, inwhich price information of the commodities 15 corresponding to thecommodity code information is stored as commodity information, toretrieve prices of the commodities 15. The commodity information filemay be provided on the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 or alternatively in an upper control apparatuswhich controls the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1.

Also the price retrieval section 10 refers to a commodity informationfile, in which price information of the commodities 15 corresponding tothe commodity code information is stored as commodity information, toretrieve prices of the commodities 15. The commodity information filemay be provided in the settlement POS terminal 8 or alternatively in anupper control apparatus which controls the settlement POS terminal 8.

In the POS system described above with reference to FIG. 3, whilecarrying the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1, a customer itself reads a commodity code 15a applied to acommodity 15 to be purchased by means of the commodity code readingsection 2 and accommodates the commodity 15 into the accommodationsection 3. Then, after shopping is completed, the customer moves to thesettlement POS terminal 8.

Thereupon, on the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1, the prices of commodities 15 accommodated in theaccommodation section 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 are retrieved by the price retrieval section 4in accordance with the commodity code information from the commoditycode reading section 2, and totalization calculation of the prices ofthe commodities 15 is performed by the calculation section 5 inaccordance with a result of the retrieval.

Then, a detailed log of the purchased commodities is produced by thedetailed log production section 6 in accordance with the result of theretrieval by the price retrieval section 4 and a result of thecalculation by the calculation section 5, and the detailed log isprinted as a two-dimensional bar code by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 7.

If a retrieval error occurs during the price retrieval processing by theprice retrieval section 4, the error is detected by the errordetermination section 12. Consequently, contents to be printed by thetwo-dimensional bar code printing section 7 are switched by the printcontents switching section 13 from the detailed log produced by thedetailed log production section 6 to the commodity code information readby the commodity code reading section 2.

At the settlement POS terminal 8, the two-dimensional bar code printedby the two-dimensional bar code printing section 7 of the purchasedcommodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 is read by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 9, and whether a result of thereading is a detailed log or commodity code information is determined bythe print contents determination section 14.

When it is determined that the result of the reading is commodity codeinformation, the prices of the commodities 15 accommodated in theaccommodation section 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus 1 are retrieved by the price retrieval section 10in accordance with two-dimensional bar code information from thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 9, and final settlement ofaccounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in the accommodationsection 3 of the purchased commodity accommodating and transportingapparatus 1 is performed by the totalization section 11 in accordancewith a result of the retrieval.

On the contrary when it is determined by the print contentsdetermination section 14 that the result of the reading is a detailedlog, final settlement of accounts for the purchased commoditiesaccommodated in the accommodation section 3 of the purchased commodityaccommodating and transporting apparatus 1 is performed by thetotalization section 11 in accordance with the result of the readingfrom the two-dimensional bar code reading section 9.

Accordingly, with the POS systems of the aspect of the presentinvention, the access time for data transfer processing between thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus 1 and thesettlement POS terminal 8 upon settlement of accounts can be reducedremarkably, and consequently, the time for settlement of accounts can bereduced. Further, incomplete transfer of data, which possibly occurswith conventional radio transmission, is eliminated, and enhancement ofthe reliability can be realized.

Further, since detailed data are transferred at a time to the settlementPOS terminal 8, the settlement POS terminal need not perform priceretrieval processing any more, and consequently, the settlement time canbe further reduced.

Furthermore, when a retrieval error occurs upon price retrieval by thepurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus,information of a two-dimensional bar code to be printed by thetwo-dimensional bar code printing section 7 is automatically switched tocommodity code information so that price retrieval processing based onthe commodity code information is performed by the settlement POSterminal 8. Consequently, the burden to the upper control section can bereduced.

b. First Embodiment

Referring first to FIGS. 4 to 10, there is shown a POS system accordingto a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. The POS systemof the present embodiment as well as another POS system of the secondembodiment, which will be hereinafter described, commonly employ such aself scanning cart (shopping cart having a self scanning function) 100as shown in FIG. 8 as a purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus.

Referring first to FIG. 8, the scanning cart 100 includes a cart section101 and a basket member 102 which serves as an accommodation section.

The cart section 101 is constructed so as to receive the basket member102 thereon and includes a handle section 103 for being grasped by ausing person such as a customer, and four roller members 104 providedfor rotation on the bottom of the cart section 101. Accordingly, acustomer can accommodate commodities to be purchased into the basketmember 102 while freely moving the cart section 101 on which the basketmember 102 is placed by grasping and pushing the handle section 103 torotate the roller members 104.

The cart section 101 further includes, as hereinafter described indetail with reference also to FIGS. 4 and 5, a scanner 57 for reading abar code (commodity code) 50a applied to a commodity 50 as well as adisplay section 54 for displaying various information, and a keyboardsection 55 for inputting various information.

In a POS system which employs the scanning cart 100 of the typedescribed above, generally a customer itself reads a bar code 50aapplied to each commodity 50 to be purchased by means of the scanner 57to register the commodity code information, places or accommodates suchcommodities 50 into the basket member 102, depresses, after selection ofcommodities to be purchased is completed, an end key (not shown) on thekeyboard section 55, and carries them to a settlement POS terminal 70(which will be hereinafter described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6)with the commodities loaded on the scanning cart 100.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the POS system of the first embodiment of thepresent invention includes at least one self scanning cart 100, at leastone settlement POS terminal 70, and a controller (upper control section)90. The self scanning cart 100, the settlement POS terminal 70 and thecontroller 90 have such hardware constructions as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7,respectively.

Referring first to FIG. 5, there is shown the hardware construction of acontrol system of the self scanning cart 100.

The control system shown includes a CPU (central processing unit) 51 forcontrolling the entire control system of the self scanning cart 100, astorage section 52 for storing a program and various data, and acommunication section 53 for communicating data with the controller 90by wireless (infrared rays or the like).

The control system further includes the display section 54 whichdisplays various information (unit prices, a total amount of money andso forth as commodity information of scanned commodities 50), thekeyboard section 55 which inputs various information, a battery section56 for supplying power to the control system of the self scanning cart100, and the scanner (bar code reader, commodity code reading section)57 which optically reads a bar code (commodity code) 50a applied to acommodity 50.

The control system further includes a two-dimensional bar code printingsection 58 for printing commodity code information (raw data of a barcode 50a, that is, an array of digits before price retrieval processingsuch as, for example, 49123456) read by the scanner 57 as atwo-dimensional bar code, a commodity information file 59 which is usedas a price lookup file and in which commodity numbers, commodity names,prices (unit prices) and so forth corresponding to commodity codeinformation are stored, and a detailed log file 60 for storing a detaillog produced by the CPU 51 as hereinafter described.

A two-dimensional bar code is a code of alphanumeric characters, kanacharacters, kanji characters and/or like characters, and has a recordingcapacity much greater than a one-dimensional bar code and allows codingof character information as it is. Therefore, data read from atwo-dimensional bar code can be used as they are. Where such data arecommodity information, no retrieval by an upper control system isrequired. Meanwhile, for example, "PDF417" is used as a two-dimensionalbar code.

Referring now to FIG. 6, there is shown the hardware construction of thesettlement POS terminal 70. The settlement POS terminal 70 includes aCPU 71 for controlling the entire settlement POS terminal 70, a storagesection 72 for storing a program and various data, a communicationsection 73 for communicating data with the controller 90 by wireless(infrared rays or the like), a display section 74 for displaying variousinformation (a receipt image of a result of settlement of accounts andso forth), a keyboard section 75 for inputting various information, anda drawer (drawer section) 73 for accommodating cash therein.

The settlement POS terminal 70 further includes a printing section 77for issuing a result of settlement of accounts as a receipt, a scanner(bar code reader) 78 for reading a bar code 50a at the settlement POSterminal 70 when necessary, and a two-dimensional bar code readingsection 79 for reading a two-dimensional bar code printed by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 58 of the self scanning cart100.

The settlement POS terminal 70 further includes a commodity informationfile 80 which is used as a price lookup file similarly to the commodityinformation file 59 of the self scanning cart 100 and has commodityinformation such as commodity numbers, commodity names, prices (unitprices) and so forth stored therein corresponding to commodity codeinformation, and a transactions log file 81 for storing a transactionslog produced by the CPU 71 as hereinafter described.

Meanwhile, the controller 90 serves as an upper control section such as,for example, a station controller for controlling the self scanning cart100 and the settlement POS terminal 70 and has such a hardwareconstruction as shown in FIG. 7.

In particular, referring to FIG. 7, the controller 90 includes a CPU 91for controlling the entire controller 90, a storage section 92 forstoring a program and various data, a communication section 93 forcommunicating data with the self scanning cart 100 or the settlement POSterminal 70 by wireless (infrared rays or the like), a display section94 for displaying various information, and a commodity information file95 which is used as a price lookup file similarly to the commodityinformation file 59 of the self scanning cart 100 and has commodityinformation such as commodity numbers, commodity names, prices (unitprices) and so forth stored therein corresponding to commodity codeinformation.

The POS system in the present embodiment is functionally constructed insuch a manner as shown in FIG. 4 from the self scanning cart 100, thesettlement POS terminal 70, and the controller 90 described above.

In particular, referring to FIG. 4, the CPU 51 of the self scanning cart100 has functions as an input control section 51a, a commodityinformation file control section 51b, a calculation control section 51c,a detailed log control section 51d, an inquiring processing controlsection 51e, and a two-dimensional bar code printing control section51f.

The input control section 51a performs input control to read key inputdata from the keyboard 55 and commodity code information read by thescanner 57 into the CPU 51.

The commodity information file control section (first price retrievalsection) 51b retrieves commodity numbers, commodity names, prices (unitprices) and so forth of commodities 50 accommodated in the basket member102 of the self scanning cart 100 from the commodity information file 59in accordance with commodity code information read by the scanner 57.

The calculation control section (calculation section) 51c performstotalization calculation of prices of commodities 50 in accordance witha result of retrieval by the commodity information file control section51b. The detailed log control section (detailed log production section)51d produces a detailed log of purchased commodities in accordance witha result of retrieval by the commodity information file control section51b and a result of calculation by the calculation control section 51c.

The inquiring processing control section 51e produces, when retrieval ofthe commodity information file 59 by the commodity information filecontrol section 51b has failed to find out relevant data, an inquiringtelegram having commodity code information (raw data of a bar code 50a)read by the scanner 57 and requests the controller 90 for retrieval of aprice for the commodity code information, and then receives a result ofsuch price retrieval by the controller 90.

An inquiring telegram produced by the inquiring processing controlsection 51e is transmitted to the controller 90 by way of thecommunication section 53. Meanwhile, a result of price retrieval by thecontroller 90 is received by the inquiring processing control section51e by way of the communication section 53 and sent to the commodityinformation file control section 51b.

The two-dimensional bar code printing control section 51f editscommodity code information (raw data of bar codes 50a) read by thescanner 67 and inputted by way of the input control section 51a andcontrols the two-dimensional bar code printing section 58 to print theedited commodity data information as a two-dimensional bar code.

Meanwhile, the CPU 71 of the settlement POS terminal 70 has functions asa reading control section 71a, a commodity information file controlsection 71b, an inquiring processing control section 71c, a transactionslog control section 71d, a printing control section 71e, and atransactions data transmission control section 71f.

The reading control section 71a performs input control to readtwo-dimensional bar code information read by the two-dimensional barcode reading section 79 into the CPU 71. The commodity information filecontrol section (second price retrieval section) 71b retrieves commoditynumbers, commodity names, prices (unit prices) and so forth ofcommodities 60 accommodated in the basket member 102 of the selfscanning cart 100 from the commodity information file 80 in accordancewith two-dimensional bar code information read by the two-dimensionalbar code reading section 79.

The inquiring processing control section 71c has a function similar tothat of the inquiring processing control section 51e of the selfscanning cart 100, and produces, when retrieval of the commodityinformation file 80 by the commodity information file control section71b has failed to find out relevant data, an inquiring telegram havinginformation (raw data of a bar code 50a) of a commodity code for whichretrieval has failed and requests the controller 90 for retrieval of aprice for the commodity code information, and then receives a result ofsuch price retrieval by the controller 90.

An inquiring telegram produced by the inquiring processing controlsection 71c is transmitted to the controller 90 by way of thecommunication section 73. Meanwhile, a result of price retrieval by thecontroller 90 is received by the inquiring processing control section71c by way of the communication section 73 and sent to the commodityinformation file control section 71b.

The transactions log control section (totalization section) 71d performsfinal settlement of accounts for purchased commodities accommodated inthe basket member 102 of the self scanning cart 100 in accordance with aresult of retrieval by the commodity information file control section71b, produces a transactions log, and displays the transactions log as areceipt image on the display section 74 and stores the transactions loginto the transactions log file 81.

The printing control section 71e controls the printing section 77 toprint a transactions log produced by the transactions log controlsection 71d as a receipt. The transactions data transmission controlsection 71f transmits a transactions log produced by the transactionslog control section 71d as transactions data to the controller 90 by wayof the communication section 73.

On the other hand, the CPU 91 of the controller 90 has functions as acommunication control section 91a, a commodity information file controlsection 91b, a transactions data reception control section 91c, and adisplay control section 91d.

The communication control section 91a controls communications of data(an inquiring telegram including commodity code information, a result ofprice retrieval and so forth) between the self scanning cart 100 and thesettlement POS terminal 70 by way of the communication section 93. Thecommodity information file control section 91b retrieves a commoditynumber, a commodity name, a price (unit price) and so forth of acommodity 50 from the commodity information file 95 in accordance withcommodity code information transmitted thereto by way of an inquiringtelegram.

The transactions data reception control section 91c controls thecommunication section 93 to receive transactions data transmittedthereto from the settlement POS terminal 70 side. The display controlsection 91d controls the display section 94 to display transactions datafrom the settlement POS terminal 70 side received by the transactionsdata reception control section 91c.

Operation of the POS system of the first embodiment of the presentinvention having the construction described above is illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 10. Referring first to FIG. 9, a customer itself will read abar code 50a applied to a commodity 50 to be purchased by means of thescanner 57 and input the commodity code information (step A1). Then, ifsuch inputting has been performed correctly (input OK, determination ofYES at step A2), then the commodity information file control section 51bretrieves a commodity number, a commodity name, a price (unit price) andso forth of the commodity 50 from the commodity information file 59 inaccordance with the commodity code information read by the scanner 57and inputted from the input control section 51a (step A3).

In this instance, if the retrieval of the commodity information file 59by the commodity information file control section 51b has failed toobtain relevant data, then the inquiring processing control section 51eproduces an inquiring telegram having the commodity code information(raw data of the bar code 50a) read by the scanner 57 and requests thecontroller 90 for price retrieval in accordance with the commodity codeinformation by way of the communication section 53. Then, on thecontroller 90 side, the inquiring telegram is received by way of thecommunication section 93 and the communication control section 91a, andthe commodity information file control section 91b retrieves a commoditynumber, a commodity name, a price (unit price) and so forth of thecommodity 50 from the commodity information file 95 in accordance withthe commodity code information transmitted thereto by way of theinquiring telegram. A result of the retrieval is transmitted to the selfscanning cart 100 side by way of the communication control section 91aand the communication section 93. On the self scanning cart 100 side,the result of the retrieval is received by the inquiring processingcontrol section 51e by way of the communication section 53 and is sentas a result of price retrieval corresponding to the commodity codeinformation to the commodity information file control section 51b. Thesequence of price retrieval processes at step A3 described above iscalled local priority central price lookup (FLU).

Then, a total amount of money read in till now is calculated by thecalculation control section 51c using the result of the price retrievalin accordance with the commodity code information read in from thescanner 57. A detailed log till now is produced by the detailed logcontrol section 51d in accordance with a result of the calculation andresults of price retrieval of the commodity code information read tillnow (step A4). The detailed log is stored into the detailed log file 60and displayed in a receipt image on the display section 54 (step A5).

The processes at step A1 to A5 are repeated until the customer depressesthe end key of the keyboard section 55 to effect inputting of ending ofthe use (step A6).

After the customer depresses the end key of the keyboard section 55 toend its shopping, the customer will move and transport the commoditiescarried on the self scanning cart 100 to the settlement POS terminal 70.

Thereupon, on the self scanning cart 100, the commodity code information(raw data of the bar codes 50a which are arrays of digits before priceretrieval processing is performed) read by the scanner 57 and inputtedby way of the input control section 51a is edited into a two-dimensionalbar code by the two-dimensional bar code printing control section 51f(step A7). Then, the two-dimensional bar code is printed by thetwo-dimensional bar code printing section 58 (step A8).

Referring now to FIG. 10, upon settlement of accounts at the settlementPOS terminal 70, an operator of the settlement POS terminal 70 willreceive the printed result of the two-dimensional bar code from thetwo-dimensional bar code printing section 58 of the self scanning cart100 and read the two dimensional bar code by means of thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 79 (step B1).

Then, commodity numbers, commodity names, prices (unit prices) and soforth of the commodities 50 are retrieved from the commodity informationfile 80 by the commodity information file control section 71b inaccordance with the two-dimensional bar code information read by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 79 and inputted from thereading control section 71a (step B2).

In this instance, if the retrieval of the commodity information file 80by the commodity information file control section 71b has failed to findout relevant data, the inquiring processing control section 71c producesan inquiring telegram having the commodity code information (raw data ofa bar code 50a) read by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 79and requests the controller 90 for price retrieval of the commodity codeinformation by way of the communication section 73. Then, on thecontroller 90 side, the inquiring telegram is received by way of thecommunication section 93 and the communication control section 91a, anda commodity number, a commodity name, a price (unit price) and so forthof the commodity 50 are retrieved from the commodity information file 95by the commodity information file control section 91b in accordance withthe commodity code information transmitted thereto by way of theinquiring telegram. A result of the retrieval is transmitted to thesettlement POS terminal 70 side by way of the communication controlsection 91a and the communication section 93. On the settlement POSterminal 70 side, the result of the retrieval is received by theinquiring processing control section 71c by way of the communicationsection 73 and transmitted as a result of price retrieval correspondingto the commodity code information to the commodity information filecontrol section 71b.

The results of the price retrieval by the commodity information filecontrol section 71b described above are successively read by thetransactions log control section 71d (step B3), and final settlement ofaccounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in the basket member102 of the self scanning cart 100 is performed by the transactions logcontrol section 71d in accordance with the results of the retrieval readfrom the commodity information file control section 71b. In particular,a transactions log is produced and displayed in a receipt image on thedisplay section 74 (step B4). Further, the transactions log is storedinto the transactions log file 81 and printed as a receipt by theprinting section 77 under the control of the printing control section71e (step B5).

The transactions log produced by the transactions log control section71d is transmitted as transactions data by way of the communicationsection 73 to the controller 90 under the control of the transactionsdata transmission control section 71f (step B6). Then, on the controller90 side, the transactions data transmitted thereto from the settlementPOS terminal 70 side are received by the transactions data receptioncontrol section 91c by way of the communication section 93 and displayedon the display section 94 under the control of the display controlsection 91d.

In this manner, with the POS system of the first embodiment of thepresent invention, if a customer scans and inputs the bar code 50a of acommodity 50 with the self scanning cart 100, then price retrieval(price lookup) processing is performed every time, and the price of thecommodity and a total amount of money are displayed on the displaysection 54. Further, a detailed log is produced and stored into thedetailed log file 60. On the other hand, upon settlement of accountswith the settlement POS terminal 70, two-dimensional bar code data (rawdata of the bar code printed on and outputted from the self scanningcart 100 are read by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 79 ofthe settlement POS terminal 70 to perform price retrieval (price lookup)thereby to perform final settlement of accounts.

Accordingly, the access time for data transferring processing betweenthe self scanning cart 100 and the settlement POS terminal 70 uponsettlement of accounts is reduced significantly, and a commodityregistering operation on a check-out lane is omitted, resulting inremarkable reduction of the check-out time (settlement time). Further,incomplete transmission of data, which may possibly occur inconventional radio transmission, is eliminated, and consequently,enhancement of the reliability can be realized.

It is to be noted that, while the commodity information file 59 isprovided on the self scanning cart 100 in the first embodiment of thepresent invention described above, the commodity information file 59 mayotherwise be omitted. In this instance, retrieval in accordance withcommodity information is performed using the commodity information file95 in the controller 90 by way of the communication section 53. Similareffects or advantages to those of the embodiment described above can beobtained also with the modified construction.

c. Second Embodiment

Referring now to FIGS. 11 to 13, there is shown a POS system accordingto a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Also the POSsystem of the present embodiment employs such a self scanning cart 100as shown in FIG. 8. Since the self scanning cart 100 is commonlyemployed in the present embodiment, overlapping description is omittedherein to avoid redundancy.

Also the POS system of the present embodiment includes at least one selfscanning cart 100, at least one settlement POS terminal 70, and acontroller (upper control section) 90 as seen in FIG. 11. The selfscanning cart 100, the settlement POS terminal 70 and the controller 90have the same hardware constructions as those described hereinabove withreference to FIGS. 5 to 7, respectively, and overlapping description ofthem is omitted herein.

The POS system in the present embodiment is functionally constructed insuch a manner as shown in FIG. 11 from the self scanning cart 100, thesettlement POS terminal 70, and the controller 90 described above.

In particular, referring to FIG. 11, the CPU 51 of the self scanningcart 100 has functions as an input control section 51a, a commodityinformation file control section 51b, a calculation control section 51c,a detailed log control section 51d, and a two-dimensional bar codeprinting control section 51f which are similar to those of the firstembodiment, and further has functions as a commodity information fileerror determination section 51g and a print contents switching section51h.

It is to be noted that the CPU 51 of the self scanning cart 100 in thepresent embodiment does not have a function as the inquiring processingcontrol section 51e provided in the first embodiment, but has functionsas the commodity information file error determination section 51g andthe print contents switching section 51h instead. Further, thetwo-dimensional bar code printing control section 51f in the presentembodiment has a function of printing a detailed log produced by thedetailed log control section 51d as a two-dimensional bar code, andanother function of printing commodity code information (raw data of abar code 50a) read by the scanner 57 as a two-dimensional bar code.

The commodity information file error determination section (errordetermination section) 51g determines whether or not an error hasoccurred upon price retrieval by the commodity information file controlsection 51b. The commodity information file error determination section51g determines that a retrieval error has occurred when retrieval of thecommodity information file 59 by the commodity information file controlsection 51b has failed to find out relevant data.

The print contents switching section 51h switches, when it is determinedby the commodity information file error determination section 51g thatan error has occurred, contents to be printed by the two-dimensional barcode printing section 58 from detailed log data (a commodity number, acommodity name, a price and so forth) produced by the detailed logcontrol section 51d to commodity code information (raw data of a barcode 50a) read by the scanner 57. The print contents switching section51h performs the switching operation so that, normally when no retrievalerror occurs, the contents to be printed by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 58 may be a detailed log produced by the detailed logcontrol section 51d.

Meanwhile, the CPU 71 of the settlement POS terminal 71 in the presentembodiment has functions as a reading control section 71a, a commodityinformation file control section 71b, an inquiring processing controlsection 71c, a transactions log control section 71d, a printing controlsection 71e, and a transactions data transmission control section 71fwhich are similar to those of the first embodiment, and further has afunction of a print contents determination section 71g.

The print contents determination section 71g determines whether a resultof reading by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 79 inputtedby way of the reading control section 71a is detailed log data orcommodity code information (raw data).

The commodity information file control section 71b in the presentembodiment retrieves, when it is determined by the print contentsdetermination section 71g that printed contents are commodity codeinformation, commodity numbers, commodity names, prices (unit prices)and so forth of commodities 50 accommodated in the basket member 102 ofthe self scanning cart 100 from the commodity information file 80 inaccordance with two-dimensional bar code information read by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 79. Further, also the commodityinformation file control section 71b of the second embodiment has afunction of rendering the inquiring processing control section operativeto cause the controller 90 to make a request for price retrieval whenretrieval of the commodity information file 80 has failed to find outrelevant data similarly as in the first embodiment.

Further, the transactions log control section 71d in the presentembodiment produces, when it is determined by the print contentsdetermination section 71g that printed contents are commodity codeinformation, a transactions log in accordance with a result of retrievalby the commodity information file control section 71b in a quite similarmanner as in the first embodiment, displays the transactions log as areceipt image on the display section 74, stores the transactions loginto the transactions log file 81, and effects final settlement ofaccounts (payment) for purchased commodities accommodated in the basketmember 102 of the self scanning cart 100.

On the other hand, when it is determined by the print contentsdetermination section 71g that printed contents are detailed log data,the transactions log control section 71d in the present embodimentproduces a transactions log in accordance with a result of reading(detailed log data) by the two-dimensional bar code reading section 79inputted from the reading control section 71a, displays the transactionslog as a receipt image on the display section 74, stores thetransactions log into the transactions log file 81, and effects finalsettlement of accounts (payment) for the purchased commoditiesaccommodated in the basket member 102 of the self scanning cart 100.

Operation of the POS system of the second embodiment of the presentinvention having the construction described above is illustrated inFIGS. 12 and 13. Referring first to FIG. 12, similarly as in the firstembodiment, a customer itself will read a bar code 50a applied to acommodity 50 to be purchased by means of the scanner 57 and input thecommodity code information (step C1). Then, if such inputting has beenperformed correctly (input OK, determination of YES at step C2), thenthe commodity information file control section 51b retrieves a commoditynumber, a commodity name, a price (unit price) and so forth of thecommodity 50 from the commodity information file 59 in accordance withthe commodity code information read by the scanner 57 and inputted fromthe input control section 51a (step C3).

Then, a total amount of money read in till now is calculated by thecalculation control section 51c using the result of the price retrievalin accordance with the commodity code information read in from thescanner 57. A detailed log till now is produced by the detailed logcontrol section 51d in accordance with a result of the calculation andresults of price retrieval of the commodity code information read tillnow (step C4). The detailed log is stored into the detailed file 60 anddisplayed in a receipt image on the display section 54 (step C5).

The processes at step C1 to C5 are repeated until the customer depressesthe end key of the keyboard section 55 to effect inputting of ending ofthe use (step A6).

Then, in the present embodiment, after the customer depresses the endkey of the keyboard section 55 to end its shopping, the customer willmove and transport the commodities carried on the self scanning cart 100to the settlement POS terminal 70.

Thereupon, on the self scanning cart 100, the commodity information fileerror determination section 51g determines whether or not a priceretrieval error that relevant data cannot be obtained has occurred inretrieval of the commodity information file 59 by the commodityinformation file control section 51b (step C7).

When it is determined by the commodity information file errordetermination section 51g that no price retrieval error has occurred(determination of NO at step C7), detailed log data (a commodity number,a commodity name, a price and so forth) produced by the detailed logcontrol section 51d are converted into a two-dimensional bar code by thetwo-dimensional bar code printing control section 51f (step C8), and thetwo-dimensional bar code is printed by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 58 (step C10).

On the contrary, when it is determined by the commodity information fileerror determination section 51g that a price retrieval error hasoccurred (determination of YES at step C7), the print contents switchingsection 51h switches the contents to be printed by the two-dimensionalbar code printing section 58 from the detailed log data produced by thedetailed log control section 51d to the commodity code information (rawdata of a bar code 50a) read by the scanner 57.

Thereafter, similarly as in the first embodiment, the commodity codeinformation (raw data of the bar code 50a which are an array of digitsbefore price retrieval processing is performed) read by the scanner 57and inputted by way of the input control section 51a is edited into atwo-dimensional bar code by the two-dimensional bar code printingcontrol section 51f (step C9). The two-dimensional bar codes are printedby the two-dimensional bar code printing section 58 (step C10).

Referring now to FIG. 13, upon settlement of accounts at the settlementPOS terminal 70, an operator of the settlement POS terminal 70 willreceive the printed result of the two-dimensional bar code from thetwo-dimensional bar code printing section 58 of the self scanning cart100 and read the two-dimensional bar code by means of thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 79 (step D1).

Then, in the settlement POS terminal 70 of the present embodiment, theprint contents determination section 71g determines in accordance withthe two-dimensional bar code information read by the two-dimensional barcode reading section 79 and inputted from the reading control section71a whether a result of reading by the two-dimensional bar code readingsection 79 inputted thereto by way of the reading control section 71a isdetailed log data or commodity code information (raw data) (step D2).

When it is determined by the print contents determination section 71gthat the result of the reading is raw data (determination of YES at stepD2), a commodity number, a commodity name, a price (unit price) and soforth of the commodity 50 are retrieved from the commodity informationfile 80 by the commodity information file control section 71b in asimilar manner as in the first embodiment (step D3).

It is to be noted that, in this instance, when the retrieval of thecommodity information file 80 by the commodity information file controlsection 71b has failed to find out relevant data, the inquiringprocessing control section 71c transmits an inquiring telegram to thecontroller 90 to make a request for price retrieval, and a result ofsuch price retrieval (result of retrieval of the commodity informationfile 95) by the commodity information file control section 91b of thecontroller 90 is received.

Such results of price retrieval by the commodity information filecontrol section 71b as described above are successively read into thetransactions log control section 71d (step D4), and by the transactionslog control section 71d, final settlement of accounts for the purchasedcommodities accommodated in the basket member 102 of the self scanningcart 100 is performed in accordance with the results of the retrievalread from the commodity information file control section 71b. Inparticular, a transactions log is produced and displayed as a receiptimage on the display section 74 (step D5). Further, the transactions logis stored into the transactions log file 81 and printed by and outputtedfrom the printing section 77 as a receipt (step D6).

On the other hand, when it is determined by the print contentsdetermination section 71g that the result of the reading by thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 79 is not raw data but detailedlog data (determination of NO at step D2), the detailed log data of thetwo-dimensional bar code reading section 79 inputted from the readingcontrol section 71a are read into the transactions log control section71d (step D4). Then, by the transactions log control section 71d, finalsettlement of accounts for the purchased commodities accommodated in thebasket member 102 of the self scanning cart 100 is performed inaccordance with the result of the reading. In particular, a transactionslog is produced and displayed as a receipt image on the display section74 (step D5). Further, the transactions log is stored into thetransactions log file 81 and printed by and outputted from the printingsection 77 as a receipt (step D6).

The transactions log produced by the transactions log control section71d is transmitted as transactions data to the controller 90 by way ofthe communication section 73 by the transactions data transmissioncontrol section 71f similarly as in the first embodiment (step D7).Then, on the controller 90 side, the transactions data transmittedthereto from the settlement POS terminal 70 side are received by thetransactions data reception control section 91c by way of thecommunication section 93 and displayed on the display section 94 underthe control of the display control section 91d.

In this manner, with the POS system of the second embodiment of thepresent invention, if a customer ends its shopping using the selfscanning cart 100, detailed log data of commodities purchased by thecustomer are printed and outputted as a two-dimensional bar code fromthe two-dimensional bar code printing section 58, and then, uponsettlement of accounts by the settlement POS terminal 70, thetwo-dimensional bar code data are read by the two-dimensional bar codereading section 79 of the settlement POS terminal 70 and the detaileddata are sent at a time to the settlement POS terminal 70. Consequently,price retrieval (price lookup) processing need not be performed on thesettlement POS terminal 70 as in the first embodiment.

Accordingly, similar effects or advantages to those of the firstembodiment can be obtained. In addition, the check-out time (settlementtime) is further reduced.

Further, in the second embodiment, if a retrieval error occurs uponprice retrieval by the self scanning cart 100, information of atwo-dimensional bar code to be printed by the two-dimensional bar codeprinting section 58 is automatically switched to commodity codeinformation (raw data of a bar code 50a), and price retrieval processingis performed by the settlement POS terminal 70 in accordance with thecommodity code information.

Accordingly, when a detection error occurs, communications of aninquiring telegram or some other operation need not be performed betweenthe self scanning cart 100 and the settlement POS terminal 70 as in thefirst embodiment. Consequently, the burden to the controller 90 can bereduced.

The present invention is not limited to the specifically describedembodiment, and variations and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A purchased commodity accommodating andtransporting apparatus having a self scanning function, comprising:acommodity code reading section for reading a commodity code applied to acommodity; an accommodation section for accommodating therein acommodity whose commodity code has been read by said commodity codereading section; a price retrieval section for retrieving prices of thecommodities accommodated in said accommodation section in accordancewith commodity code information read by said commodity code readingsection; a calculation section for calculating a total value of theprices of the commodities in accordance with a result of the retrievalby said price retrieval section; a detailed log production section forproducing a detailed log of the purchased commodities in accordance withthe result of the retrieval by said price retrieval section and a resultof the calculation by said calculation section; and a two-dimensionalbar code printing section for printing the detailed log produced by saiddetailed log production section as a two-dimensional bar code.
 2. Apurchased commodity accommodating and transporting apparatus having aself scanning function as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:anerror determination section for determining whether or not an error hasoccurred upon price retrieval by said price retrieval section; and aprint contents switching section operable when it is determined by saiderror determination section that an error has occurred for switchingcontents to be printed by said two-dimensional bar code printing sectionfrom the detailed log produced by said detailed log production sectionto the commodity code information read by said commodity code readingsection.